A Tail of Two Cats
by Attackweasel
Summary: This is the story of Firestar, from kittypet to Clan leader, and his true love, Sandstorm. AN: I know this sounds cheesy but it sums the story up. FirexSand and maybe others I don't know yet.
1. Prologue

A Tail of Two Cats

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything of, or relating to, the _Warriors_ and _Warriors: A New Prophecy_ series (except for this story and the book copies I bought with my hard-earned money). All quotes that may be used in this story are credited to Erin Hunter.**

Summary: This is the story of Firestar, from kittypet to Clan leader, and his true love, Sandstorm.

Prologue 

Rusty purred with satisfaction as he caught the scent of a mouse on the air. It was coming from the forest! Was his dream coming true? He lowered himself into his best hunting crouch. Suddenly very hungry, Rusty slowly stalked through the grass towards the mouse. Just as he was about to pounce, however, he heard a noise coming from the depths of the forest. Rusty sighed. The mouse, hearing the noise, bolted out of sight. He had no warning for the attack that was about to come.

In another part of the forest, Sandpaw was dozing off. She knew she was expected to go out on border patrol soon, but she simply had to take some time to rest.

When she opened her eyes, she found herself standing in the clearing at Fourtrees. She had never been to a Gathering before, but she recognized it by the four oaks clustered around the Great Rock. Almost at once, Sandpaw spotted a group of cats gathered around the base of the huge rock. They all looked stern and proud, with flaming white pelts. _I must be dreaming_, Sandpaw thought. _These are messengers from StarClan!_

Sandpaw watched in awe as one cat with long, fluffy fur emerged from the group and padded over to her. "Greetings from StarClan, young one." Sandpaw could do nothing but gaze up at the tall warrior. "My name is Mistpelt," she continued, "and I have come to tell you of your destiny. Do you wish to know what lies before you?

_My destiny?_ Sandpaw thought. _I hope I don't die young or get banished from ThunderClan!_ Finally finding her voice, she stammered, "I-I think so." She thought she saw a spark in Mistpelt's eyes, but it vanished in a heartbeat. "You have chosen well."

Sandpaw realized she had been holding her breath. She forced herself to relax, and listened attentively as the larger she-cat began. "Danger lies in wait for your Clan on the long path ahead, but fear not! Soon you will realize that the path to happiness lies with another cat. He will not seem it at first, but do not judge him to quickly solely because of unpopularity. Time will show you the way. Fire alone can save ThunderClan. Your destiny and ThunderClan's are intertwined. Things will not always be what they seem."

Having finished, Mistpelt bowed her head and retreated back to the other StarClan warriors that awaited her. Then, slowly, they began to fade away. "Wait!" Sandpaw cried. "You're speaking in riddles! What do you mean?" But the StarClan cats merely smiled and disappeared, until all that was left was a whisper on the breeze:

"Fire alone can save ThunderClan."

Sandpaw opened her eyes. Redtail's head was poking through the entrance to the apprentices' den. "Sandpaw, wake up! We need to patrol the RiverClan border. We've scented enemy cats there." With that, he withdrew his head. "Coming, Redtail!" Sandpaw called after him. She was still thinking about her dream. Then she got up and slowly padded out of the den, and over to where Spottedleaf, ThunderClan's medicine cat, was sitting. "Spottedleaf!" she called out. "There's something I'd like to tell you. You see, I had this dream…"


	2. Into the Wild

**Chapter One: Into the Wild**

A/N: Hey guys, I appreciate the reviews. I'm not going to be able to update for the next week, though. I'm heading off to camp until 7/15. I'll try to get a new chapter up as soon as I can after that. Thanks. Attackweasel 

"You fight well for a Twoleg pet." As Bluestar fixed her gaze upon him, Rusty wondered whether he should be honored to receive such praise, or to be inflamed for being called a Twoleg pet. He went over the recent brawl in his head. As he was about to pounce on the mouse, that Graywhatsit had thrown himself at his flank. They had rolled into a patch of nettles, scratching Rusty's fur all over. Then, taking a huge risk, he had flipped over, exposing his soft underside. Luckily, the ploy had worked, throwing the enemy cat off of him. He had raced off, back towards his garden, but, deciding to stand and fight, had stopped sharply. The ThunderClan apprentice had cannoned into him, causing him to fall back in a daze. At that point, Bluestar and Lionheart had interrupted them before they could do anymore harm. "We patrol this border frequently," she continued, "so I have often seen you watching the forest." She exchanged a glance with Lionheart. "You seem to have a natural hunting ability, and we need more warriors. Perhaps you should find out what it's like to be a Clan cat yourself. Would you like to join ThunderClan?"

Rusty couldn't believe it! He was actually going to become a ThunderClan warrior! After taking a day to think about it, he had met Lionheart and Whitestorm at sunhigh, and was now racing through the woods toward the ThunderClan camp. _I wonder what it will be like_, thought Rusty. _Maybe I'll even become Clan leader like Bluestar one day!_ His thoughts were interrupted as they approached the entrance to the camp. As he passed through the prickly gorse tunnel, Rusty could smell many cats, but their scent was unfamiliar. _This must be what ThunderClan cats smell like_, he thought to himself.

As he emerged on the other side of the tunnel, an amazing sight met his eyes. Rusty had never seen this many cats before! They were everywhere; little kits running around while queens tried unsuccessfully to calm them down, apprentices play fighting by a clump of bushes, and warriors sitting tall and proud around a pile of fresh-kill. Just then, however, Bluestar, who was standing on the top of a tall rock, called out in a loud voice: "Let all those cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting." All the cats immediately stopped what they were doing and padded over to the base of the rock and sat, staring up at Bluestar. "We have a new cat here who wishes to join ThunderClan," she said. All eyes immediately fell on Rusty. Murmuring broke out among the cats, and one pale tabby called out, "Look at his collar! He's a kittypet!"

Lionheart leaned down to him. "That's Longtail. Will you not take a challenge?" Angry from the tabby's snide remarks, Rusty pinpointed his location and suddenly flung himself at his tormentor. Taken by surprise, Longtail fell back under Rusty's weight. He soon recovered though, and started pulling on Rusty's collar. Rusty went limp, not being able to breathe. Suddenly he heard a _snap_, and he collapsed on the ground. Standing up, he spun around to face his enemy. He found him snarling a couple tail-lengths away, with his broken collar lying on the ground in front of him.

Bluestar sprang down from the Highrock and padded over to them. "The newcomer has lost his Twoleg collar in a battle for his honor. StarClan has spoken its approval – this cat has been released from the hold of his Twoleg owners, and is free to join ThunderClan as an apprentice." Then she spoke in a low voice so that only Rusty could hear, "You look like a brand of fire in this sunlight." Her eyes flashed briefly, as if her words had more meaning for her than Rusty knew. Then she announced to the Clan, "From this day forward, until he has received his warrior name, this apprentice shall be known as Firepaw, in honor of his flame-colored pelt."

As he let the praise from his new Clanmates wash over him, Firepaw noticed a dark tortoiseshell sitting in a fern-enclosed corner of the camp. "Who's that?" he asked Graypaw, his new friend. "Who? Oh, that's Spottedleaf, our medicine cat. She's younger and prettier than most…" But Firepaw was already padding over toward her. When the medicine cat looked up and saw Firepaw, he thought he saw her eyes flash.

"Hi," he said shyly. "I hear your ThunderClan's medicine cat." Spottedleaf looked at him for a long moment and then replied, "Yes, I am. Are you hurt?" Seeing Firepaw shake his head, she continued, "Oh, well that's good, because there's something I wanted to tell you." She looked around to make sure no one was listening, and then said, "Last night, I had a dream where I spoke with StarClan. Medicine cats often receive messages from StarClan," she added, seeing Firepaw's confused look.

"Anyway, in my dream, I saw you. You were sprinting across an open field with the sun shining on your coat, making it look like fire. Then a messenger from StarClan appeared and told me that fire will rise among the stars, and sand will feed the flames." She secretly kept the rest of the dream to herself. She had seen Firepaw become the leader of ThunderClan, and Sandpaw was at his side. She thought it best if Firepaw discovered that on his own. She couldn't help wondering if it held some deeper meaning, though. StarClan did not usually send messages solely about love.

It had been a long day, and Firepaw, exhausted, padded through the entrance to the apprentices' den. He saw sitting there Graypaw and two other apprentices he didn't recognize. "Hey Firepaw," Graypaw said, "this is Dustpaw," flicking his tail towards one of the other cats. Dustpaw was a dark brown tabby tom. "And this is Sandpaw," he added as he pointed towards the other apprentice, who was a pale ginger she-cat. "You mean we have to sleep with a _kittypet_ from now on?" Dustpaw sneered, and looked to Sandpaw for backup. But Sandpaw, who looked like she was about to say something, merely closed her mouth and gave Firepaw a reserved, calculating look. Firepaw, surprised at Dustpaw's hostility, turned away and gathered some moss together to make a bed. Then he practically fell down with exhaustion and went to sleep.

Firepaw opened his eyes. _Wait a minute, this isn't the apprentices' den!_ He was in an open field. Narrowing his eyes against the bright sun, he looked around, bemused. With a shock, he realized that there seemed to be no end to this field. It stretched on and on, up to meet the horizon. _This seems a lot like the place that Spottedleaf described to me_. Then another thought occurred to him. How would he get back to the ThunderClan camp? Suddenly, a voice interrupted his thoughts. "Is that you, Firepaw?" Firepaw turned around slowly, and became even more confused when he saw who it was. "Sandpaw? What are you doing here, or more importantly, where are we?" he asked. "I don't really know where we are, but I think that I'm dreaming." she replied. "But are you really the real Firepaw that's sleeping a couple fox-lengths away from me, or are you just an image of him in my dreams?" "What do you mean? Of course it's really me! But then, you do have a point. How can I be sure that you're really you?" Firepaw said. "How about this: when we wake up, we acknowledge each other so that we know that it's real." the ginger she-cat said. "Although, if it is real, then that would mean that somehow we're sharing dreams." Firepaw paused to think about that. _But how is that possible,_ he thought. He nodded, accepting the notion. "But what do we do now?" he asked.

"Well, you could listen to what I have to say." Both apprentices spun around to see where the new voice was coming from. To their surprise, they saw a StarClan warrior descending from the heavens. "Mistpelt!" Sandpaw cried out. Firepaw looked at her. "You mean you know this cat?" he asked, bewildered. "I met her in a dream once before, just before you joined ThunderClan."

"Thank you for the introduction, Sandpaw." Mistpelt said with a twinkle of amusement in her eye. "Now," she continued, "you both are probably wondering…"

"Where are we?"

"Why are we here?"

"How do we get out?"

"What…"

"STOP! One at a time!" Mistpelt said with exasperation. "Now, where are you? Well, you are in a land where time doesn't exist." she said "You mean we're dreaming?" Sandpaw asked. "Yes and no," the StarClan cat replied, "you see, you are asleep right now, in your den. However, if you were truly dreaming, Firepaw would not be here, because being in someone else's dream is impossible. Instead, your minds have both gone to the same place while you are sleeping, and have taken the shape of yourselves."

"So-"

"So no more interruptions, please." Mistpelt held up a paw for silence. "Think of it this way: your mind needs something to do while your body is resting, so it flocks here."

"And where exactly is here?" Sandpaw asked.

"Well, you may understand that a little more once you realize what the prophecies you have been given mean. So I suggest that while you are here, you work together to decode the message." Mistpelt's whiskers twitched with amusement. _They obviously have no idea that they're destined for each other_, she thought. "But Mistpelt, couldn't you just decode the message for us?" Firepaw was never really good at riddles.

"What! Where would the fun be in that?" said Mistpelt. And with that he faded away, until nothing but the breeze accompanied the two companions.


	3. Into the Wild, Part II

**Chapter Two: Into the Wild, Part II**

**A/N: Thanks for bearing with me. I know I haven't updated for a while. Also, for those of you who really want to get to the point, there's going to be some more romance now that the introduction is over with, but let me explain something to you right now. For all of you perverts out there, there will definitely be romance in this story, but I have no idea what happens when cats make love. Cats are not like humans. Therefore, it is hard to write cat love scenes, so bear with me. Keep the reviews coming!**

The two ginger cats sat there in silence in the middle of the sunny meadow. Finally Sandpaw asked, "So did you have a dream too?" "No," Firepaw replied, "but Spottedleaf told me about some prophecy she had received from StarClan - something about fire and sand." Sandpaw looked thoughtful for a moment. As she was about to reply, however, Firepaw heard a familiar voice:

"Hey Firepaw, wake up!"

Firepaw whipped around to see Graypaw running towards him. Suddenly, the whole world blurred and started whirling around him. "Firepaw! Do you have ants in your fur or something?" Graypaw was standing in front of him, looking at him strangely. Firepaw stood up. He was back in the apprentices' den again. He glanced over at Sandpaw. She was still sleeping soundly. "Training begins today," said Graypaw. After hearing those words, Firepaw forgot all about Sandpaw and his dream encounter as he raced out of the camp behind Graypaw._ I'm no longer a kittypet, I'm a ThunderClan cat,_ thought Firepaw. That whole day he spent patrolling the borders with Lionheart, Tigerclaw, and Graypaw. _Wow, those ShadowClan cats are scary,_ Firepaw thought as he padded back into camp.

He spotted Sandpaw eating a vole by the stump in front of their den and headed over to her. He sat down beside her and began chomping down on a chaffinch. "So was what we did last night really real?" he asked. Sandpaw froze and looked up at him. "What in StarClan are you talking about? Get away from me, kittypet!" she spat. Firepaw stared at her, too stunned to say anything. He looked down at his paws. _But it seemed so real,_ he thought. For some reason, he felt a deep sadness within him. _I think I liked her much better when I was asleep._ A soft churring noise interrupted his thoughts. He looked up to see Sandpaw chuckling, her eyes glowing. Then, unable to contain it any longer, she laughed out loud. "You are such a mouse-brained fool!" she cried. "Of course the dream was real!" Firepaw sighed with relief. She had tricked him, and he had believed her. He didn't know how he was going to put up with her if she was always this cunning. "So does that make us friends," he asked hopefully. Sandpaw stared at him for a moment, and then replied, "Friends forever." Then they shared tongues, neither of them noticing Dustpaw staring at them scornfully. Firepaw felt a tingle in his fur. He could feel a bond between them, and for that he was content. _Now I am a true member of ThunderClan!_

……………………………….

Two moons had passed since Firepaw had begun his training. He felt at ease with the environment, his senses awakened. As he stalked proudly back to camp with a vole in his mouth, he noticed Bluestar padding towards him. He dipped his head respectfully. "Firepaw, I have decided that you, Graypaw, and Sandpaw may come to the Gathering tonight," she said. "Really? Thank you, Bluestar. What about Dustpaw?" Firepaw asked. "He will be staying here to help guard the camp. Now move along, you will need your rest for tonight." With that, Bluestar continued on to her den.

"Hi there, kittypet," mewed Dustpaw as Firepaw and Graypaw approached the apprentices' den. "Enjoy the food _we_ caught for you." Firepaw ignored Dustpaw and sat down next to Sandpaw with a vole in between his paws. Sandpaw was keeping quiet, and Firepaw sensed that she was uncomfortable because she wasn't supporting Dustpaw. Firepaw quickly changed the subject. "Well, Sandpaw, looks like you'll be going to the Gathering tonight – Bluestar just told me." Sandpaw brightened considerably. "Too bad you won't be there," interjected Dustpaw, still scornful. "You still need your dear old mother for milk!" _Now that's just rude_, thought Firepaw. "Actually," he countered, "Graypaw and I will be joining Sandpaw at the Gathering, but you are supposed to stay here to guard the camp!" Dustpaw didn't react well to that.

Firepaw quivered with excitement. He was standing atop the bush-covered slope that overlooked Fourtrees. Suddenly, Bluestar signaled with her tail, and ThunderClan rushed down the slopes to join the rest of the Clans – RiverClan, WindClan, and ShadowClan. The rest of the Gathering went by as a blur. Firepaw was still amazed as he followed his fellow cats back to the camp. _I never realized that wildcats could be so big and fierce,_ he thought as he remembered the Clan leaders.

Later that night, as they were beginning to drowse (Dustpaw had been asleep when they had come back), Firepaw approached Sandpaw. "Sandpaw, thanks for not siding with Dustpaw today." Sandpaw looked up. "I know that you aren't a cowardly kittypet like they think. I can see that you're actually a kind, good-natured, and gullible…" Sandpaw smirked, "…cat at heart." Firepaw smiled, then gathered up his moss and went to bed.

Long after the two had fallen asleep, Dustpaw stayed awake. He had overheard their conversation, and didn't understand it. Sandpaw had been his best friend, but everything had changed once that _kittypet_ had joined the Clan. He sighed and decided that he would talk to Tigerclaw about it.

**A/N: Thanks for reading, everyone! Next chapter will really begin the flow of events. Things will start to fall in place, and their relationship will grow. I know I'm starting a little slow.**


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